Hawaiki transpacific subsea cable enters service

The Hawaiki transpacific subsea cable is now ready for service.

Hawaiki is a 15,000 km fibre optic deep-sea cable linking Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific and United States. The system uses TE SubCom's optical add/drop multiplexing (OADM) nodes allows for additional landings in the Pacific region to be added as needed. Hawaiki will provide 43 Tbps of new capacity in the Pacific region.

The system was built at a cost of US$300 million. Anchor customers on the new cable include Amazon Web Services, Vodafone, American Samoa Telecommunications Authority (ASTCA) and Research and Education Advanced Network New Zealand (REANNZ).

“This 25-year transoceanic infrastructure opens the door for unprecedented levels of economic, social and research collaboration right across the Pacific,” said Hawaiki Chief Executive Officer, Remi Galasso.

“Hawaiki is the fastest and largest cross-sectional capacity link between the U.S. and Australia and New Zealand. It will significantly enhance our connectivity to the rest of the world and, ultimately, improve the everyday life of our communities.”